Maternity Pics Part 2

My friend Hailey has posted more pictures from our photo shoot together on her blog. Although I think she is a little too generous with her description of me, I love her work! I will always be thankful for her willingness to take these maternity pictures, so that I can have them to treasure always. Thanks again, Hailey! You're the best!

Maternity Pics

My good friend, Hailey, took some maternity pictures for me yesterday. I was blessed to have her do them because she's a great photographer who has her own business, but she did mine for free because she's that sweet. =) The forecast called for sunny weather AND rain, and by the time we were able to get together in the afternoon to have our photo session, the clouds had rolled in causing an overcast, but fortunately, the rain held off until later in the evening. Because we're friends, the photo shoot was really laid back, and we had fun figuring out poses together. She hasn't done many maternity shoots that involved just the Mom. I suppose she was kind of using me for experience, but I was willing. Ha. She has already posted a Sneak Peek on her website, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest!

Btw, she is also helping plan my upcoming baby shower. Talk about being awesome! I'm really thankful for friends like her. =)

New Things....

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a year since I've posted anything new on this blog. So much has happened! The biggest news....

November 13, 2011

We found out we were going to be a family of four!

Josh and I talked off and on last year about having another baby, and we were haphazardly trying throughout the summer and into early fall. It wasn't until October though that the reality of turning 30 in 2012 made me serious about getting down to business and being intentional about getting pregnant. Prior to October, there was still some doubt as to whether or not it was a good time for us to get pregnant because we were considering moving and Josh was looking to go back to school. I was never fully committed emotionally and mentally to getting pregnant. But then I realized that as I got older into my 30s, complications during pregnancy and labor would only increase, and it was then that my mind was made up, and I flat out told Josh that we were going to seriously try that month. And we did something that I don't remember doing during those other months. We lifted up our desire for another baby to the Lord. We asked Him to bless us. Now just because we prayed about it didn't necessarily mean that God would allow us to get pregnant the first month we really tried, and I prepared myself for an unsuccessful attempt. But to both of our dismay, we found out the day after Josh's birthday that we were going to become a family of four! I told Josh that was his birthday present. =)

December 7, 2011

We got our first glimpse of our sweet baby.

February 29, 2012

We found out if we were having a boy or girl!

To tell Josh's family the gender of our baby, I enlisted the help of my sister-in-law Abby. I wanted to use a bakery that I found down there in Garland, TX, but I wasn't able to contact them when I went to place my order for the cupcakes. It was kind of shady, but in the end I was glad that I was able to involve Abby. She made cupcakes that included blue and pink fillings, so that when we called to tell her the gender, she could box up the correct ones and head over to Josh's parents house where the grandparents would also be waiting. She even included a cute poem on the outside of the box. I think she did a great job, and I was so thankful for her help! Well, when they bit into the cupcakes, the filling revealed was....PINK! We were going to have another princess! In all honesty, we were very much hoping for a boy since we already have our little princess in Ella, but as always God knows what He's doing. I'm thankful now that Ella will have a little sister to grow up with and share things with. Maybe one day, the Lord will grant us a son, but until then, we are thankful for the blessing of another child.

Norah Jane Lowery

May 30, 2012

When we went to have Norah's 3D ultrasound done, it was amazing to see the resemblance between her and Ella. We could have easily been looking at Ella's 3D ultrasound pictures and video. Norah definitely inherited both of our cheeks as Ella did. I think she's going to be a pretty chubby baby. =) My doctor even said that she thought Norah would exceed the 8lb mark. 0_0 The sonographer said that she thought Norah favored Josh, and I agree with that. People even think that Ella looks more like Josh than me. How ironic would it be if we had a son someday that favored me? Ha. I am in my 37 week, and we are hoping that Norah comes sooner than later. We are so very anxious to meet her! =)

Other than waiting for Norah to arrive, we are waiting to hear from Sanford-Brown College to know whether or not Josh has been accepted into the Cardiovascular Sonography Program. The school is located in Dallas. I'm due July 18, and the start date for his schooling would be August 12 or 13th. I can't quite remember. Josh has politely asked if there was any way for them to notify him sooner than later about whether he's been accepted because of the nature of our situation. We would have to pack up and move and get settled in Dallas before school started. Alas, they have not obliged us. We probably won't find out until the middle of July. They usually like to inform students of their acceptance about a month before the start date. I am very optimistic that he will be accepted, and we have made plans with a moving a company to pack up our things and have it shipped at the end of July, but you never know what God is going to do. If for some reason, he doesn't get accepted...well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. =)

Ella completed her first year of of preschool at Timberlake Christian Preschool! It was rough at times because she had to adjust socially to interacting with other children, but she has loved going to school to learn, and she has grown so much this year. Other than maturing and getting smarter, she has grown quite a bit vertically as well. It's exciting and difficult at the same time to see our little girl growing out of toddlerhood. She's turning 5 at the end of this year! What?!? Time is flying by, but we are proud of the little lady she has become, and she keeps us on our toes with her inquisitiveness and energetic personality. She truly is a blessing to us!

Ella Austen Lowery

November 4, 2011

Well, that's all for now. Summer has arrived, and we look forward to taking advantage of the warm weather (whenever we have it). Seattle is still unpredictable. As I write, it is raining and dreary outside. Hopefully, the rest of the weekend will be much more sunny! =)

Our Latest Adventures

Wednesday, May 25th

We took Ella to her first professional soccer game, Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas. We had hoped to make it to the Seattle Aquarium before we went to the game, but Ella's nap went later than we planned, and traffic was terrible as usual in downtown, so we hopped on over to Pike Place Market for some early dinner.

Strolling through the market.

We hit up one of our favorite places. Beecher's has the best mac 'n cheese!

Ella was excited to go to the game. =)

The Seattle Sounders' official band: Sound Wave

Opening ceremony.

Last time we went to a Sounders vs FC Dallas game, I rooted for the Sounders, and they won. I figured since I was going to be a Texan again in the not so distant future, I thought I would root for Dallas this time, and they ended up winning 1-0. Yay! Unfortunately, I missed the winning goal because I was getting some cotton candy for Ella. lol Oh well. She had a good time, and that's all that mattered.

Sunday, May 29th

Since we weren't able to take Ella to the Seattle Aquarium on Wednesday like we promised, we took her after church on Sunday. I was just as excited as she was because I've always loved going to aquariums and seeing creatures of the ocean.

She was captivated right away with all the fishes in the big water tanks.

Look! Our very own Ella octopus. =)

We saw some really neat stuff, and I think Ella thoroughly enjoyed herself. We had to kind of rush through most of it though because we wanted to let her get her nap in before we met friends for dinner that evening. I hope to go back again, so we can look at things at our leisure next time. I didn't want to take up the blog with just pictures, so you can go to my Picasa web album to see more of our adventure at the aquarium.

Monday, May 30th

On Memorial Day we thought we would go on a real adventure and do something fun and exciting. We decided to grab some lunch in downtown Seattle before we hopped the Bremerton Ferry to Gig Harbor.

Ella loves riding on the ferry boat.

Gig Harbor was a really neat and quaint little town.

We rented a canoe for an hour and just paddled our way around the lake. It was my first time!

Safety first! =)

Fun times.

We ate dinner here, and the food was really GREAT!

Baguettes with salmon spread. So yummy!

This was the view from our restaurant. Pretty sweet!

I'm thankful that we've had the opportunity to do some fun things together lately. I feel like we've grown really close as a family just within the last couple of weeks. I'm glad that Ella gets to experience new and fun things, and I hope she'll be able to retain these memories from living in Seattle since we'll be moving soon. I'm looking forward to our next adventure!

Family Time

Today has been another gorgeous day! I was going to take Ella on a walk yesterday, but I decided that I would get chores done around the house instead. Laundry was way overdue. I'm thankful that we were are able to enjoy another sunny day, and that Josh has a day off, so he could go on a walk with us. Ella and I enjoyed showing him some of our favorite spots. It was actually really warm today, and I was wishing that I had dressed more like Josh by the time we headed back home.

We had a good time as a family strolling on the path. We stopped and blew some bubbles for Ella's pleasure at one point, and Josh couldn't resist finding a few rocks to skip on the river. It was pleasant to do whatever we felt like when we felt like doing it with no feelings of being rushed to go anywhere or do anything else. I look forward to many more days like this.

Father/daughter time. =)

Ella inspecting the forsythia bush.

They had a sitting area where we stopped for a spell.

Ella decided she wanted to push the stroller for a while. She gave it up pretty quickly. lol

I love this picture!

I love how everything is turning green again.

Heading back home.

Beautiful Day for a Walk

Tuesday was a glorious day! I looked out of our window to see blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds and a sun shining bright. There was no way we were going to stay inside all day. We headed out for the Sammamish Trail pretty much right after lunch. After filling up a water bottle and packing a few snacks and necessities, we were on our way.

The air was cool and crisp, and the sun was warm on my skin. My weather app on my phone told me it was 56 degrees. There's nothing like spring and summer in Seattle. I'm thankful to be living here for the time being. I knew of other friends who were complaining about the high temperatures elsewhere. =)

Last time we went for a walk, I pushed Ella in the stroller pretty much the whole time. She got out once while we were on a bridge, so I could take a few pictures, but that was it. I wanted to get a good workout, and I knew that if she were to walk, I would have to stop every second to wait for her to pick up a dandelion, a rock, or something else.

Pictures on the bridge on our first walk.

Trying to find a spider that was hiding.

Looking out over the river.

This time I decided that I would take it easy, and I knew that if she was allowed to walk, she would tire herself out, so that when we got back home, she would be ready for her nap. And if I was lucky, she would fall asleep on the way home. Well, I was right about Ella wanting to pick up stuff. She just had to blow each and every dandelion she saw. I was fine with it at first, but there were times when I had to chastise her for lagging too far behind. We weren't going to get far at all if I left her to her own ways.

It didn't take her long to find some dandelions to blow.

She found the mother of all dandelions later on.

We had a very pleasant walk all in all. The city of Redmond made sure there were no shortages of places to rest along the way. We found a very pleasant place not too long after we started our walk. There was a great big tree that provided shade over a bench that sat looking out over the water. There were even water fountains for the thirsty, which I used to re-fill my water bottle on the way back home.

Enjoying the bench.

Hanging out on the fence.

There were a few neat discoveries while on our walk. At one point, there was a garden just off the path, and they even had benches where you could rest awhile and enjoy the flowers and foliage. I had never seen anything like it. They sure do take pride in their landscaping around here. Ella and I decided to stop and take a closer look.

How inviting does this look?

These were so pretty! I wish my phone camera could have done them justice.

By the time we discovered a path that led down to the river's edge, Ella already had a collection of flowers and rocks. She saw the river as an opportunity to throw the rocks into the water, which she did right away. She then decided to release the buttercup and dandelion into the water, so that they could float gently down the river. It was actually quite sweet to watch her do so. She only kept one buttercup which she used to adorn her hair.

There were lots of other people out enjoying the sunshine as well. I had to constantly make sure that Ella was to the far right of our lane, so that cyclists wouldn't run into her. Unfortunately, someone almost did run over her at one point. I think she gave them quite a scare. Needless to say, she was confined to the stroller after that. That was towards the end of our walk anyway, so it was not that big a deal. I gave her a snack, and she was happy to eat it, and I was happy to be making our way back home. And just like I hoped, she fell asleep.

I'm so glad that we found a place to take walks that is so near to where we live. I'm looking forward to getting out more. Here are a few more pictures of some things we saw on our walk.

We passed some cool looking train tracks.

These cherry blossom trees were so beautiful!

It's kind of hard to see, but there's a bench that sits underneath this awesome willow tree. I would love to be able to sit there for hours and just write in my journal.